By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles Welcome 2022, goodbye 2021! It’s been another year full of changes for Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center. With the start of the new year, we would like to acknowledge all of the changes that have occurred both virtually and in person. Last year….. Social Media Expansion and Engagement With our ever …
Announcing Virtual Pregnancy + Postpartum Pelvic Health Services
By Molly Bachmann PT, DPT, PHRC San Francisco Virtual appointments are now available for those who are pregnant and postpartum! We are excited to offer this service to birthing people around the world. Whether you are pregnant and are interested in learning more about how to prepare your body for birth or need help developing a birth plan and …
A Peripartum Product Guide for Pregnant Friends by a Pelvic Floor PT
What does a Pelvic Floor Physical and Occupational Therapists gift her pregnant friends at their baby showers? By Molly Bachmann PT, DPT, PHRC San Francisco Working in the medical field places one in a unique position when it comes to relationships with family and friends. Frequently I’ll receive questions about aches and pains, emails asking for advice, etc. …
How pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy helps men with pelvic pain
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Lexington In the past, when most folks in the medical community thought about pelvic pain, the assumption often was that it was due to pregnancy or labor and delivery, or something related to a woman’s menstrual cycle or reproductive organs. Thankfully, the medical community has come a long way. Within the community of medical …
PHRC is accepting new patients in Pasadena, California!
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, PHRC West Los Angeles The Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center is excited to announce that we are now accepting new patients in our newest location in Pasadena! Let’s be real, Los Angeles traffic is no joke. Since we opened in West LA in 2014 we have been honored to help patients from all over the greater …
Good News! Interstitial Cystitis is treatable! A Much Needed Q&A
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, PHRC West Los Angeles What is Interstitial Cystitis? IC is a pelvic pain syndrome characterized by irritated bladder symptoms. This condition is associated with painful sex, pelvic floor dysfunction, vestibulodynia, endometriosis, and gut dysbiosis. What are the symptoms? Symptoms include bladder pain, urinary urgency, urinary frequency, pain worsened with bladder filling, nocturia, and dysuria. The …
Working on mind over bladder? Urine good company
By Molly Bachmann PT, DPT, PHRC San Francisco Urination is one of the most reliable body functions a person can have. You go about your daily routine, you receive a little message to your brain that says “Hey there! It’s me, your bladder. We’re pretty fully down here. Do you think you could empty me?” You listen to your …
ICYMI: IG Live with Sexual Medicine Expert Rachel Rubin
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, PHRC Los Angeles A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Rachel Rubin on Instagram Live. I wanted to interview Rachel because of her unique background as a board-certified female urologist who completed a sexual medicine fellowship with Dr. Irwin Goldstein. Dr. Rubin is a clinician, a researcher, and a vocal educator …
Dear Doctor, Your Patients are Human; An Open Letter
By Emily Schwerdtfeger, PHRC Westlake Village Admin Assistant A patient submitted this letter following their personal experience with patient care An open letter to any doctor who’s ever seen a patient. To patients who have experienced something similar, I’m sorry and you didn’t deserve it. “I understand that doctors have limited time with patients and that medicine is …
Meditation & Yoga for Pelvic Pain Relief [Videos Links Included]
By admin Wondering what you can do besides pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy for your pelvic pain? This week we compiled the yoga sessions our PT, Melissa Patrick, has been hosting on our Instagram. Find the best yoga session for you based on the pelvic pain you are experiencing directly below its description. Yoga for Pudendal Neuralgia …
SIBO Updates plus follow up Q&A
Let’s talk SIBO SIBO stands for Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth; bacteria that is an overgrowth of the normal bacteria in your small intestine. How to test for it:⠀ A breath test is typically used either in the clinic or a take-home test is given. The test uses a solution, glucose or lactulose (but usually lactulose), that is consumed and …
You’re Invited to a Live Virtual Event! Sue’s Pelvic Pain Success Story & Going the Distance for her Cause!
By Kim Buonomo, DPT, PHRC Lexington Here at PHRC we love to celebrate our patients’ success and we are inviting you to join us for a special success story and fundraising event. We shared a little on IG Live last week, in case you missed it, you can view the video on our Instagram. Register for the full event …
How Pelvic Floor PT Helps Children with Constipation & Incontinence
By Shannon Pacella, DPT, PHRC Lexington Did You Know… Bedwetting affects 15%-22% of children, and of those children, 10%-25% have urinary leakage during the day.1 One of the primary causes of bedwetting and daytime wetting is constipation.1 10%-25% of children who bed wet also have difficulty controlling their bowels.1 Awareness of bladder sensation and control of bladder begins between one …
Pudendal Neuralgia Resources [UPDATED]
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC West Los Angeles Did you know that June is Men’s Health Awareness Month? To follow up that month, we wanted to update the resources we have for Pudendal Neuralgia. Below you will find the latest and greatest information both in blog and video format! We compiled information from guest speakers, Do’s and Don’ts, yoga …
Is Your Vagina Healthy? How to Tell Healthy from Unhealthy
By Jandra Mueller, DPT, MS, PHRC Encinitas Here is the situation, you have irritation down there, you go to your doctor, she performs her exam and tests, she swabs you, then you get the call… your cultures came back negative. Here is what your GYN may have missed. Many women experiencing pelvic pain, urinary, and sexual dysfunction often have pelvic …
Pelvic Floor Education is Coming to Classrooms
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, DPT, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles “Girls aged 12 to 17 should be taught in school how to do pelvic floor exercises, according to new draft health guidelines.” – BBC News For the past 21 years my career has been focused on advancing the field of pelvic health. Last week the BBC posted an article …
Pelvic Floor Spasm with Q&A
By Stephanie A. Prendergast, DPT, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Los Angeles What is a pelvic floor spasm? It is the presence of contracted, painful muscles on palpation and elevated resting pressures by vaginal manometry. If the contraction is painful, this is usually described as a cramp. Pelvic floor myalgia (a symptom) may be present without a change in pelvic floor muscle …
IG Live Q/A: Pudendal Neuralgia + Pudendal Nerve Entrapment
By Elizabeth Akincilar, MPT, Cofounder, PHRC Lexington In May we went live on Instagram with Mark Conway, MD, gynecologist and pelvic surgeon specializing in pelvic neuralgias. We compiled a list of questions from social media to answer during our live about your inquiries about Pudendal Neuralgia. So what is Pudendal Neuralgia? It is a treatable pain condition that consists …
Why Men Are Given Unnecessary Antibiotics & What to do Instead
By Stephanie Prendergast, MPT and Urology Expert Joshua Gonzalez, MD Most men who develop the symptoms of Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS) are given unnecessary courses of antibiotics, at least once. How do we know they were unnecessary? Most of our patients have never been properly tested for a prostate infection. Men with CPPS account for up to 97% …
How Pelvic Floor PT Helps Men’s Health & Pelvic Floor Dysfunction
By Melinda Fontaine, DPT, PHRC Walnut Creek Did You Know…. Pelvic floor exercises are equally effective as sildenafil (Viagra) in treating erectile dysfunction. Pelvic floor physical and occupational therapy can help incontinence, erectile dysfunction, post void dribbling, overactive bladder, premature ejaculation, and pelvic floor tension myalgia. Erectile dysfunction is associated with twice as much absenteeism, decreases in work productivity, …
Pelvic Floor Physical and Occupational Therapy Helps Pelvic Organ Prolapse
By Jillian Giannini, DPT, PHRC Los Angeles Did you know that Pelvic Organ Prolapse (POP)is more common than you think and that the severity or stage of the prolapse does not always correlate with symptoms? One review found that 41 – 50% of women had POP on examination, though only 3 – 5% of women report symptoms. Many people understand …